The Status Window [Miser]

The day after becoming a genius was far more exhausting than I had anticipated.

'Ugh... I must have stood out way too much yesterday.'

As I walked down the hallway, curious gazes clung to me like burrs. Whispers rippled through the air.

"Is that him? The one who used Dragonfly Wing for..."

"Yeah. From the Pedro Barony."

'Why are they making such a big deal out of it?'

It looked like the rumor had spread across the entire grade in a single day. ...Well, it wasn't exactly a bad thing. On the road to claiming the top spot, rumors were basically lubricant.

Then—

"Ganon Pedro!"

Someone came sprinting up behind me, panting hard. It was a girl from my class.

"U-um! About that Light Sphere Manifestation from yesterday—could you please teach me a little about mana control—"

"Ganon Pedro! Me too! Teach me too!"

In an instant, five or six students had me surrounded. Their eyes sparkled as they shoved notebooks toward me. Among them were a few of the same faces that had sneered at me yesterday, calling me an insect mage.

'Hey, your expressions have done a complete one-eighty.'

But when I actually thought about it... 'I don't have anything to teach them.'

I had never learned mana control. I simply hadn't wasted a single drop because wasting mana was the same as wasting money. How was I supposed to teach something like that?

"Well... um."

"Yes! Yes!"

Six pairs of eyes bored into me. My mental calculator spun at full speed. If I told them, "Actually, I don't know anything," right now, my genius image would crumble to dust. The top student title would vanish along with it.

'Can't have that.'

I slowly arranged my face into the most convincing expression I could manage.

"Mana... should be thought of as money."

"Huh?"

"Don't waste a single penny. That's all there is to it."

...This wasn't a lie. It was pure, heartfelt truth. But they seemed to interpret it as some profound metaphor.

"Mana... is money..."

"Don't waste a single penny..."

The students began scribbling my words down with deadly seriousness.

'Why are you writing that down?'

"As expected of Ganon Pedro. His realm is on another level."

"So it's saying to treat mana like an asset?"

"How deep..."

'It's not deep at all. I'm literally just telling you to save money.'

I quietly slipped away from the crowd. Behind me, I could still hear them muttering, "Don't waste a single penny..."

'I think I might have created something terrifying.'

After spending the entire day pretending to be a genius, I returned to the dormitory that night and collapsed straight onto my bed.

"...Haah."

I was exhausted. Keeping up the 'humble genius' face all day—on a face that didn't even like smiling—had left my cheeks sore. Who knew expressions required stamina too?

'If there was such a thing as expression points, I would've saved those as well.'

But there was a more pressing issue.

'I'll have to buy catalysts again tomorrow.'

Even Dragonfly Wings cost money. Ten gold per bag. With what I currently had, how many weeks could I stretch it?

I opened my mental account book. The dormitory meal plan had somehow been waived, textbooks could be borrowed from the library, but the catalysts... the catalysts were the real problem.

'Isn't there anything cheaper? Moth wings? Mosquito wings?'

...Where was I supposed to catch mosquitoes?

'Actually, I could just catch them. It is summer, after all.'

I was seriously weighing the merits of a mosquito hunt when—

Ding—

"What the...?"

I bolted upright and swiped at the air—whoosh, whoosh. My hand passed straight through the blue window. It didn't even flicker.

'Am I hallucinating? Maybe I really am too hungry.'

I had skipped dinner again tonight. But this felt too vivid to be a hallucination. Every letter was crystal clear.

'Frugality behavior? Status window?'

Ding!

"Miser?"

I read it aloud without thinking. ...Couldn't it have been something cooler? Like Master of Efficiency or Sage of Restraint. Why did it have to be Miser?

...Then again, it wasn't exactly wrong, so I couldn't argue.

Another ding! sounded, and a new window appeared.

"Hmm."

I stared at the window for a long time, then slowly pieced it together.

'So... the less I use, the stronger it gets?'

Wait a second. This...

'Was yesterday's Light Sphere because of this?'

That tiny, unshakable light I had created from a pinch of Dragonfly Wing dust. The one that had left everyone gasping and calling me a genius. Was that not a coincidence?

If my extreme frugality ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had driven the power to its extreme...

'For real?'

I wanted to test it immediately.

"Alright. Let's try."

There ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was still a bag of Dragonfly Wings on the desk from yesterday. I picked it up... and hesitated for a long time.

'Using a whole wing feels too wasteful.'

My brain had already switched off the new skill and defaulted straight back to instinct. In the end, I took out a single wing and tore off only the tiniest sliver with my fingernail—just like yesterday.

But then I paused again.

'No, wait.'

It said the less I used, the stronger it became. So what if I used even less than a sliver?

I split the fragment in half. Then in half again. And again. It was now barely more than a speck of dust—something so fine it was almost invisible, clinging precariously to my fingertip.

'At this point, I might as well not be using anything at all.'

I minimized my mana too. Not even a single strand. Half of half. No—half of that half. I breathed it in like a sigh, letting almost nothing escape.

"Hoo..."

The moment I focused on my palm—

Ping!

Light exploded outward.

"Whoa!"

It wasn't the walnut-sized sphere from yesterday. This was a blazing orb the size of a baseball, flooding the entire room with brilliant light. The ceiling glowed, and rays leaked out the window. The overwhelming sphere rotated above my palm, shimmering with iridescent colors.

It was impossible to believe such power had come from a single speck of dust.

"...This is insane."

It was real. The less I used, the stronger it became—and to an absurd degree.

But then—

Bang bang bang!

"Ganon Pedro?! Is everything okay in there?!"

The student from the next room was pounding on the door.

"Ah."

The light must have been too bright.

"...I-it's nothing! I'm just... reviewing some material!"

"Reviewing at this hour...?! As expected of a genius...!"

The footsteps faded away.

'Another misunderstanding.'

I hurriedly extinguished the light. The room plunged back into darkness in an instant.

"Wow..."

My heart was still hammering.

'Maybe I...'

My mental calculator began spinning wildly. Up until now, I had been saving because wasting money hurt. But now, saving was getting stronger. My stinginess, my obsession—it was all turning into talent.

While others had to grind up expensive catalysts by the handful just to make a sphere half as bright, I could do it with a single speck of dust.

'This isn't just success. This is a jackpot.'

'Why is it even tracking that?'

I stared at the window.

So this thing... was tracking every single cheapskate habit I had? And once I crossed certain thresholds, those habits became skills?

'This is a little embarrassing.'

'Oh, then...'

Skipping meals, not spending money, not speaking—everything could become a condition?

'Hold on a second.'

I had spent my whole life not doing a ridiculous number of things. Not eating, not spending, not buying, not playing.

"Then the remaining unlock conditions..."

I muttered experimentally.

"...Show me my conditions."

"Whoa."

There were more than I expected. I really had been living while avoiding a lot of things.

"Heh..."

For some reason, I felt strangely proud.

'But what are those question marks?'

A few were still hidden. 'I guess I need to fulfill the conditions before they reveal themselves.'

My heart began to race.

Other people spent money on expensive catalysts, ate good food, and took costly lessons to get stronger. But me?

'I just have to not do things and I get stronger.'

Was there any growth method in the world that cost less? No—actually, the less I spent, the stronger I became. Spending would be a loss.

'Whoever made this system has impeccable taste.'

Giving a cheapskate the ability to grow by being cheap. All the poverty, debt, and hunger from my previous life felt like training for this very moment.

'When I think of it that way, it feels a lot less unfair.'

I closed the window, lay down on the bed, and stared at the ceiling while planning tomorrow ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in my head.

Tomorrow's tasks:

Skip meals — I usually skip about five days a week anyway.

Save words — I'm not that talkative to begin with.

Don't spend money — passive skill.

...Huh?

'This is actually a huge win.'

Wait, no—calling it a "win" implies spending money on a lottery. 'More like I hit the jackpot without buying a ticket.'

Anyway, it didn't matter. While others spent lavishly, I would simply refrain. While others ate their fill, I would go hungry. While others chattered, I would keep my mouth shut.

I closed my eyes.

Tomorrow, I would be stingier than ever.

And, just a little... I was excited about it.